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Are e-cigarettes the best way to kick your smoking habit?

Are e-cigarettes the best way to kick your smoking habit?

The spread of e-cigarette shops provides Islamabad's smokers an alternative, but is it any less harmful than cigarettes?
27 Feb, 2017

The last of the shishas have been extinguished in the capital, but at a swanky new retail outlet in F-11 Markaz, well-heeled men lean over a wood-panelled counter, inhaling what appears to be smoke from small electronic devices. But as they are quick to clarify, it is not smoke, but vapour.

Dense, white clouds are slowly exhaled, hanging in the air for a split second before dissipating, perfuming the room with a fruity scent.

The walls are lined with shelves displaying hundreds of tiny bottles. Each contains a colourful liquid and bears a curious label, such as Swedish Gummy, Abominable Snowman, Crunchy Cream Donuts and Berry Delight.

This shop is among a handful of new outlets catering to a growing demand for electronic cigarettes and vaporisers in the city. In one plaza alone, there are two shops specialising in the sale of e-cigarettes.

These devices function by using an electronic battery to heat up a solution of nicotine and flavouring and convert it to vapour, which the user can inhale.

While the subculture around ‘vaping’, as the phenomenon is widely known, might make it seem like a hobby, the case for going electronic is quite convincing.

The case for going electronic

The demand for e-cigarettes has been spurred by the optimism that they are a less risky alternative to smoking
The demand for e-cigarettes has been spurred by the optimism that they are a less risky alternative to smoking

The demand for e-cigarettes has been spurred by the optimism that they are a less risky alternative to smoking; allowing the inhalation of nicotine without the tar and carbon monoxide produced by burning tobacco.

Nasir Mehmood had been a smoker for 25 years before he switched to a vaporiser.

“Two years ago, at the age of 46, I had to undergo an angioplasty. That’s when I knew I couldn’t smoke cigarettes anymore,” he said.

But after smoking a-pack-a-day for most of one’s life, quitting isn’t easy.

“I couldn’t quit cold turkey, so I decided to give e-cigarettes a shot,” said Mr Mehmood. Within a few months, he said, his senses of smell and taste, as well as his stamina, had improved.

He has no illusions about how safe his new habit is. “I don’t think e-cigarettes are harmless; they may be less harmful that cigarettes,” he muses.

Here's the catch

Proliferation of e-cigarette shops provides capital’s smokers an alternative, but is it any less harmful than cigarettes?

Many share Mr Mehmood’s concerns about the safety of using e-cigarettes and vaporisers. While horror stories about exploding batteries abound, many hesitate to give up a certain evil for an uncertain one.

Bilal Saleem works at another store that sells e-cigarettes and liquids made by brands in the US and UAE. “The e-cigarette models we sell come with a chip which cuts off power supply to prevent the battery from exploding. It’s the mechanical models that explode,” he argues.

Doctors, researchers and public health regulators across the world stand divided on the safety of e-cigarettes.

Doctors, researchers and public health regulators across the world stand divided on the safety of e-cigarettes. In Pakistan, the e-cigarette market remains unregulated, which means that the quality of the e-liquids on the market have not been checked by a public health body.

Countries such as Norway, Brazil and Singapore have banned the sale of these devices, while in other places such as the UK, e-cigarettes are being viewed as an effective way to wean smoker off the habit, and may soon be prescribed by the UK’s National Health Service (NHS).

In Pakistan, the e-cigarette market remains unregulated, which means that the quality of the e-liquids on the market have not been checked by a public health body.

Khurram Hashmi, national coordinator for the Coalition for Tobacco Control, told Dawn that e-cigarette vendors were resisting attempts at regulation.

“The current anti-smoking laws cover the use of tobacco in any form. Since nicotine is derived from tobacco leaves, it should technically fall under the purview of existing laws.”

But Fahad Khan, who owns a vape store, contends that the e-liquids sold at his store are safe.

“They are usually made up of liquid nicotine (in varying quantities), medical grade Propylene Glycol, Vegetable Glycerine and food flavours,” he said.

Mr Khan laments that the authorities do not understand the use of e-cigarettes. “Police come to our shops because they confuse e-cigarettes with shisha, they see the couches and think it’s a shisha café,” he complains.

Which e-cigarette is right for you?

Waqas Jamil, a salesman at Mr Khan’s shop, is himself a former smoker. He advises customers on how to choose the right device or nicotine strength according to the number of cigarettes they smoke in a day.

“Most people start with a high concentration of nicotine such as 8mg or 16 mg and eventually move to lower strengths such as 4mg to 2mg, with some settling for liquids with zero nicotine,” he said.

This, says Mr Hashmi, is the real danger.

“E-cigarettes allow the user to adjust the amount of nicotine they consume, which is something that should be done by a licenced medical practitioner. Even in the UK, where the NHS is using e-cigarettes to wean people off smoking, such treatments are regulated by medical professionals. What is happening here is tantamount to self-dosing, which can be very harmful,” he said.

While the users of e-cigarettes come from all age groups, the prices of these devices – which can range from Rs2,000 to Rs20,000 – keep them out of the reach of many smokers in Pakistan.

Mohammad Talha, 25, has also been using e-cigarettes for two years now. “Although I had been smoking 10-15 cigarettes a day for five years, the switch was easy. In the beginning, you get the occasional urge to smoke a cigarette, but eventually you don’t miss it at all,” he said.

Like Mr Mehmood, Talha has also seen an improvement in his health. He said that his senses of taste and smell have improved.

He started vaping with flavoured e-liquids and later began experimenting with other flavours. “Most shops let you sample the flavours. I mostly prefer fruity e-liquids now,” he adds.

But Nasir Mehmood said he is no longer interested in trying new flavours. “After a while, they all begin to taste the same,” he says with a chuckle.


Originally published in Dawn, February 27th, 2017

Comments

D.wolves Feb 27, 2017 08:57pm
e liquids contains large amount of sugar. And that sugar dissolves into your system when you vape. They might not cause the damage a normal cigarette would but on the other side of the coin, the amount of sugar your vaping is bound to have consequences, specially for people with sugar problems. On any e liquid you have a stern warning if liquid touches your skin you should wash it immediately. That in it self raises red flags.
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wasim Feb 27, 2017 10:52pm
my invention implimented for that sole purpose,
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Farouq omaro Feb 28, 2017 05:48am
I smoked for 23 years. Then I tried e-cigarettes for a year, and it has helped me quit smoking. I don't even use e-cigarettes any longer. But e-cigarettes only work if you stop smoking altogether when you are on e-cigarettes. If you smoke and use e-cigarettes interchangeably, in the end you will fully return to smoking.
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nasr Feb 28, 2017 10:04am
This is a product highly injurious to health and body. In US a lot has been told about this but still not yet banned.
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Faisal Feb 28, 2017 11:23am
Great article on this booming trend. However if possible please share a study or some info if Vape is also harmful. Also one major concern is youngsters are getting attracted to this Vaping. Smoking of Tobacco has a warning for under age sale where as Vaping doesn't.
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Prof Javaid Khan Feb 28, 2017 01:57pm
E-Cigarettes; A gateway to Nicotine addiction? Most e-cig contains large concentrations of propylene glycol, which is a known irritant when inhaled. The testing of some of these products also suggests the presence of other toxic chemicals, aside from nicotine.. Many poison centers all over the world have received increasing number of calls in recent years of nicotine poisoning from e-cig accidental ingestion of liquid by small children. Concerns have also been raised on the emissions of toxins from e-cig to indoor air thus endangering the health of others present in the room. Nicotine, volatile organic compounds, heavy metals, and particle irritants are risks to lungs and other vital organs . There are no long term studies available on the safety of e-cig and their adverse health effects. E-cig use can increase the heart rate and blood pressure and has the potential to cause cardiac events and arrhythmias in individuals with or at risk for cardiac disease.
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Danyal Anwar Feb 28, 2017 02:03pm
According to study published on 6 Feb 2017 by cancer research UK , E-Cigs are 95% safer than normal cigarettes
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Ali Feb 28, 2017 04:58pm
Is it safe?Couldn't understand
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Marion Mar 01, 2017 03:20am
@Prof Javaid Khan Propylene glycol was approved for inhalation back in the 1940s and is still used in the air systems of hospitals in North America because of its antibacterial properties. Many vapers here report that they have fewer colds and flu bouts since they stopped smoking cigarettes -- this is anecdotal evidence, but it reinforces the science.
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Marion Mar 01, 2017 03:29am
@Prof Javaid Khan That post pretty well summarizes the shoddy, biased "research" coming out of studies mostly funded by the pharmaceutical industry (which is trying desperately to defend its pills, gum, and patches for smoking cessation as well as the medication for the diseases caused by smoking. Propylene glycol was approved for inhalation back in the 1940s and is used in the air purification systems of North American hospitals, largely because of its antibacterial properties. Many vapers report fewer bouts of colds and flu since they stopped smoking, and this may be related to PG. The reports of metals in the vapour came from tests done on older devices -- they have been improved radically in the past few years. Good regulation would make sure that all devices are safe, but Public Health has been too busy running around in anti-vaping hysteria to think about making a positive contribution to smokers' health.
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ahmed Mar 01, 2017 12:18pm
among two BAD things..... cigarettes are WORST and e-cigarettes are BAD. so you WANT to do something bad, then go for e-cigarette. however, be careful while reading comparisons because tobacco industry is very wealthy and they will do everything to make e-cigarette a failure.
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Martin Hedington Mar 01, 2017 04:02pm
@Danyal Anwar Fortunately you are only partially correct Danyal, they said it is in fact between 95 and 99% safer than smoking tobacco...
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Martin Hedington Mar 01, 2017 04:07pm
@Farouq omaro I smoked for fifty years myself from the age or 14 and managed to switch, (that's what we call it now, -not quitting), and did it in six days, easily. No cold turkey, no yearning for a ciggy, no withdrawal symptoms and best of all, vaping costs me less than a quarter the cost of cigarettes. An even bigger plus is that it's almost like having a pack of twenty smokes with every one a different flavour, and every packet a different set of flavours, that's quite cool. All the nicotine you need without the nasty crap that goes with it (in a cigarrette).
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